MOVIE REVIEW: The Fault In Our Stars

It's been quite a while since I went to the theater to watch a movie and with a friend. So Sunday, June 8th, my best friend and I finally decided to watch The Fault In Our Stars after much delay. Here's what I thought about it.

(If you want to read my review for the book first, then here it is)

Title: The Fault In Our Stars
Directed by: Josh Boone
Screenplay: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber
Cast: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, David Whalen, Milica Govich, Lotte Verbick and Willem Dafoe
Based on: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
Producers: Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey
Cinematography: Ben Richardson
Music: Mike Mogis, Nate Walcott, Atlantic Records (Soundtrack)
Edited by: Robb Sullivan
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
See full list of cast and crew

SYNOPSIS:
Hazel and Gus are two extraordinary teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them - and us - on an unforgettable journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous, given that they met and fell in love at a cancer support group. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, based upon the number-one bestselling novel by John Green, explores the funny, thrilling and tragic business of being alive and in love. (c) FOX

Misfit Review:
*Photos credited to 20th Century Fox, Rotten Tomatoes and Page To Premiere

My feelings are alright after seeing the movie. In fact, I loved it, cried to it, thought my life was over and basically became a total wreck while listening to All I Want and All of The Stars but I did not go out the theater asking why I exist or crying my eyes out towards my best friend. The movie made me hopeful. It made me hopeful that Young Adult adaptations can actually be awesome. We'll go to that later. Let's talk about the treatment.

MOVIE REVIEW: HER by Spike Jonze (2013)

It’s been over a month since I last made a movie review and I kind of paced through my last weeks of March with school works and April enjoying my summer reading books and watching TV shows more than movies. But since I did get to see a few movies and I’m really trying to push my limits with writing posts more this month to catch up with the following weeks to a month that I have not been able to posts anything.

Synopsis:

Spike Jonze takes the helm for this comedy about a withdrawn writer (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with his computer's highly advanced operating system.

Watch Trailer:

Misfit Review:

With the fast rise of technology, it is easier to communicate with people through phones, computers and the like, but what if you end up falling in love with an Operating System that relays certain emotions and has understood you more than you would ever have experienced with real human beings.

MOVIE REVIEW: THE SPECTACULAR NOW (2013) LIVING IN THE NOW

Checked out a few movies in the last month and one of them is The Spectacular Now. I've actually had the movie for a while but didn't have enough time to actually watch, but when the opportunity presented itself, I just had to you know? Coz Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley? Let Me Let Me!

There are seldom movies that are taken to the big screen that receive approving nods from critics. Take The Godfather by Mario Puzo and The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick. And if you had no idea that this movie was from a novel by Tim Tharp, I feel sorry for you. HAHA! Just kidding. Anyway, here's my review:

MOVIE REVIEW: FROZEN (2013) BE UNDER THE FROZEN FLURRY

So, it's practically been 5 months I guess, since I posted a movie review! And I feel so terribly damned by that! I have been seeing movies lately, but not entirely in the mood before to blog about them. But I am gonna blog about them. Soon. Pending reviews. I feel like I have a death toll. 

I have been itching to write a review for some time now (though I did say I was not in the mood. Sorry. A certain self-proclaimed disorder playing about). But I am a true masochist and I like to make it hard on myself to have so much other content and pages on my blog to update that I sort of forgot that this even existed. OH YES! THE SHAME!  But I am making it up to you now!!!

I have promised to do a Catching Fire movie review, but since I just recently got the necessary materials for that, then I'd leave that pending even if you all know what I will be talking about -_-

Okay, no more rants! Time for the review! Here we go! I PROMISE YOU! IT WILL BE FLUFFY!

Photo Credits to Disney Wikia

Frozen, produced by Disney, is a story of two sisters Anna and Elsa who are both princesses of the quaint country, Arendelle. Elsa, who is the eldest, can use ice sorcery. She amuses Anna with it but an accident causes Anna to lose her memories of Elsa's powers and for Elsa to keep her powers secret from Anna. This also causes a rift in their relationship. This also causes the King and Queen to hide this fact from their subjects, thus closing the palace gates and keeping the children isolated.

The years passed, and after a tragic voyage to the sea, the king and queen die, which leaves both the princesses orphaned. This in the end, causes Elsa to become queen of the land of Arendelle.

During the coronation, everything seems to be fine. Anna is happy about being able to meet the people from outside the palace gates and meeting true love in the form of Prince Hans. He proposes marriage to her that very day. Elsa who find out about it, is infuriated but walks out telling Anna she could not get married, scared to reveal her powers but Anna disapproves and confronts her. At rage, Elsa unintentionally reveals her magic! Afraid she'll hurt anyone, she runs off but leaves the whole kingdom in a curse of eternal winter. 

Photo Credit to Movie Wallpaper

Anna, with the help of  ice trader and mountain man, Kristoff and his trusty sidekick reindeer, Sven and a magical snowman named OLAF, they search for Elsa in the wicked angst of the winter storm, to stop her by all means, bring her back to Arendelle, and most importantly, bring back summer!

Photo Credits to Rope of Silicon

I don't want to spoil the story for you guys by giving you some sort of introduction already. HAHAHA! But I will tell you this: THE STORY IS ADORABLE, RIVETING AND ALL IN ALL, WONDERFULLY CRAFTED! You got to hand it to DISNEY! They did it again, and put on a plot twist to an original, and almost redundant concept of TRUE LOVE! HAHA! And this plot twist my friends, would make you so much more appreciative of relationships I tell you!

The visuals of the film are fantastic, reminiscent of TANGLED (another Disney film) which uses CGI and hand-drawn animation! The mix of pastel and vibrant colors to contrast the gloomy mood of winter offsets and brings life to the characters! Each character is given enough attention to detail and their personalities, shine through each scene, giving you a taste of what to look forward to next! 

THE MOVIE, as always with Disney, IS A WONDERFUL MUSICAL! I love it to pieces! From the beginning up until the end you'd be given sentimental walkthrough-icey-capped-mountains sort of musical numbers or a skippidy, joyous single of a funny snowman looking forward to summer and getting a tan! HAHA!

Listen to some of them here:

MOVIE REVIEW: EPIC 2013 Save The Forest

If you could ever help save the forest, what exactly would you do? Let's say you turn into, I dunno, a teeny, tiny person, then would it be possible? Well, with lots of faith in magic, fantasy and whimsy, I'll say yes, especially after seeing EPIC (2013). Get yourselves some Leafmen!

BRIEF SUMMARY:

CINESTHESIA: Submerging Into The World of Indie PART 2 Review

So, I came back to Manila to spend two more days of the Cinemalaya experience. It was difficult coz I had to travel from Batangas after a hectic day at school to Manila just so that my 10 o'clock ticket for the next day won't go to waste.

And it wasn't put to waste. I reached the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) just in time before the first movie starts, so I checked out the availability of tickets for the next movies. And I was baffled, shocked and all the adjectives to describe a jaw drop. The attendant told me that tickets to the Shorts Category, which I was expecting to watch, were sold out even before I got there. Other movies such as Nuwebe, Quick Change, David F. and those from the Directors' Showcase Category were sold out. even Burgos, the closing film of the whole festival.

I wanted to sink in the stairs of the lobby but I had no time to sulk. I headed to the Nicanor Abelardo Theater to watch the first film of the day.

Let's start:

CINESTHESIA: Submerging Into The World of Indie PART 1 REVIEW

After a week of films, personalities, attitudes and budding feelings, I would say that my second year indulging myself to Cinemalaya Independent Films was worth it.

Credits to Starmometer

I never would have thought that I would obsess over the Philippine indie scene after seeing Thelma, directed by Paul Soriano, last year. From then on, I invested my time on independent movies and checking out directors as well as scriptwriters. And to fully submerge myself into the world of these unconventional thinkers, I needed to go back to the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) to watch films that I felt at that time would give me jitters and cause mind blowing-ness. (if that is even a word. Maybe not.)

And from July 28-29 and August 3-4, I truly was blown away by the captivating stories presented this year. And though I haven't necessarily said my individual assessments on the films, the whole experience was endearing and worth-while.

Now with my individual assessments, I wouldn't be sugar-coating things though I did say the stories were captivating. Just you know, read. You'll understand. HAHA!

I've seen only 10 films: 7 from the New Breed Category Full Length features and 3 from the Directors' Showcase Category. Unfortunately, I didn't get tickets for the shorts because of the shortage of tickets and seats.

Let's start the review:

The Feels of Cinesthesia

After a week of films, personalities, attitudes and budding feelings, I would say that my second year indulging myself to Cinemalaya Independent Films was worth it.

Credits to Starmometer

I never would have thought that I would obsess over the Philippine indie scene after seeing Thelma, directed by Paul Soriano, last year. From then on, I invested my time on independent movies and checking out directors as well as scriptwriters. And to fully submerge myself into the world of these unconventional thinkers, I needed to go back to the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) to watch films that I felt at that time would give me jitters and cause mind blowing-ness. (if that is even a word. Maybe not.)

And from July 28-29 and August 3-4, I truly was blown away by the captivating stories presented this year. And though I haven't necessarily said my individual assessments on the films, the whole experience was endearing and worth-while.

Now with my individual assessments, I wouldn't be sugar-coating things though I did say the stories were captivating. Just you know, read. You'll understand. HAHA!

I've seen only 10 films: 7 from the New Breed Category Full Length features and 3 from the Directors' Showcase Category. Unfortunately, I didn't get tickets for the shorts because of the shortage of tickets and seats.

OLD MOVIE REVIEW: THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985)

As the quote in the beginning goes,


“And these children that you spit on

as they try to change their worlds

are immune to your consultations.

They’re quite aware of what they’re going through…”

Credits to verdoux's WordPress

This made me want to listen to the whole song written and performed by David Bowie. Anyway, the movie caters to the stereotypes usually found in high school. On a Saturday, six students get detention. Each have their reasons for being there. And through sorting out their differences, they form a mutual bond through a common problem: PARENTS

In a way, we are what we are to what our parents make of us. If our parents pamper us, we end up spoiled and greedy towards material possessions and end up being couch potatoes. If we get beaten and verbally abused, we shun ourselves from them and be the rebellious child they never wanted. And when they have such high expectations, we end becoming the social misfits of the world by being shut-ins.

Pretty much, this problem is explored in the movie as each character explain their undertakings within their household and the feelings they keep inside as they cannot find any reason to say anything.

The movie tackles a story quite common to the young generation of today. It’s quite different from the “now” typical story of teen bullying. You could say that the parents are the bullies in this case.

Each of us have these feelings toward our parents somehow. A certain longing that they couldn’t give or some hatred that they instilled which we’ll take till our wake. The story, though in just one setting, brings about that homely and shared feeling.

WORK ON YOUR PITCHES: PITCH PERFECT 2 OUT ON 2015

That’s right. News of the sequel to the popular movie: PITCH PERFECT is now on the works. So we’ll be expecting Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin and the ever lovable and pitch-slappin’ FAT AMY played by Aussie comedian Rebel Wilson, hit the big screen again. And it seems that new characters are gonna settle in since the movie ended with an audition. *wink wink*

The said sequel will premiere on 2015, so we still have some time to make predictions and what-not on how the sequel will end up.

First things first. COMEDY. Of course we are gonna expect some laughs, especially since Rebel Wilson is still involved. We are gonna be seein’ some horizontal runnin’ and probably some mermaid dancing 2.0.

And since it’s called “PITCH” Perfect, then definitely there’s MUSIC. We’ll probably end up with more riff-offs, group acapella singing and some serious competition for the new ICCA championship. And who would not want his or her favorite song to be featured in the new movie? I wish they’d sing Anything Could Happen by Ellie Goulding. Anything could happen, right? So I’m crossing my fingers.

 

Lastly, that ROMANCE vibe that every teenage girl likes, including me. Now, I’m not that girly-girly but I get way too taken with lovey-dovey scenes. The previous movie had a few scenes, so we can undoubtedly expect a deeper relationship between Beca and Jesse and hopefully a couple addition too. Oooh! And a foil to their relationship would be fun too! HAHAHA!

Two years to go yet I have so much expectations with the movie already. I just can’t wait to laugh and sing-out to the new movie. Better make sure that my pitch is perfect too. LOL.

Now, tell me what you think! That would be fun! :D

Check out my Twitter page and follow if you have some time: @jayvwrites27. I’ll make sure to give news on how the Pitch Perfect sequel is goin’ on…

Give my Instagram a look too: @jayvwrites27

And probably add me as a friend on Facebook (introduce yahselves,’kay?): facebook.com/shuraheterchrome…

Thanks for readin’ and CHEERIO!

When I Watched Juno Walk

The thing about pirated, downloaded-off-the-internet movies is that it's hassle free and I don't have to go to a rental shop here at my place just to hear them say, "Oh, we don't have it." Well, F you for that. And you call yourselves movie rental stores.

I was pretty much against the idea of downloading through torrents. Basically coz I had no idea what torrents were and how they worked. Anyway, after much clear and deliberative thought about it, I decided to succumb to my evilness and download a movie off of the internet.

And download I did. It wasn't so bad actually. A few presses of tabs and links and boom. You got yourself a movie. The first movie I ever downloaded from a torrent website was Juno.

For those who are not familiar with the movie, let me give you a brief summary:

"Juno MacGuff is a 16 year old, junior high school girl who ended up being pregnant after having sex with her best friend Paulie Bleeker. She decides to have it aborted but quickly changes her mind to have it adopted by a family in the identity of the Lorings."

So, I guess that's not much of a summary even though it is "brief". You should probably see it, coz from watching it, I knew that my decision to fall over to the dark-side was worth it.

It's not your typical kick-ass movie where the guy gets the girl then they hook up in the end. In this movie, the girl gets the guy and they hook up in the beginning and not in the end, so different from others: CHECK.

It's witty. That's for sure. I stared at laptop,waiting for those first words to come out of Ellen Page's mouth. And when she said, "It started with a chair." I knew that I've fallen in love with her character.

I'm a total movie-junkie and I'm the type who assesses her movies very well, thank you very much. But I was never the type to obsess over Robert Pattinson as he sparkles when he was hit by sunlight or dropped dead when Logan Lerman fought off beasts. I liked them, but I didn't fall in love with them.

Juno, I fell in love with. Yeah I know. Why would I fall in love with a character that curses a lot, gets pregnant just coz she says she was "bored" and barfs at an urn by the hallway. Yup. I definitely fell in love with her for that.

But it wasn't like I fell in love with her just coz she's rude. Sure, the movie offers tons of chances for her to be rude, but the movie's family-oriented and Juno is selfless.

Selfless, I know. Not the first word you'd think about from the first take, but seeing Juno take responsibility of the child still, is truly selfless of her and worrying about other's welfare over her own is damn right selfless...

So uhm, ranting about my love for the movie is totally out of the topic, and clearly the title doesn't suggest it'd be about pirating movies, so a WIN-WIN situation don't we all agree?

SO THANK YOU to the wonderful "WORLD WIDE WEB" for creating websites that offer movies I can never find in rental stores and thank you for allowing me to see Juno walk...